Method and apparatus for efficient and deterministic group alerting

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided for reliable, wireless group messaging or alerting in a system having a database, switch, wireless network, and a plurality of intelligent mobile receivers. A message is broadcast to and received by a selected group of the mobile receivers. The network replies to the sender with detailed information about the individual members in the group. Each of the mobile receivers in the group can acknowledge the group message back to the system such as when the message is received, when the message is read, and a response when sent. The system employs centralized management to provide the sender with response information of the mobile receivers.

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/075,347, filed Nov. 8, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/476,641, filed May 21, 2012 (now issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 8,588,207), which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/154,138, filed Jun. 6, 2011 (now issued as U.S.Pat. No. 8,199,740), which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/303,025, filed Dec. 16, 2005 (now issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,969,959), which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional applicationSer. No. 60/636,094, filed Dec. 16, 2004, the entire disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The ability to alert and mobilize first responders is central to thereadiness of any public safety agency. In the aftermath of recent majorpublic safety events, including natural and man-made disasters, thepublic safety community has thoroughly examined all aspects of wirelessinteroperable voice communications. However, first responder alertinghas remained largely unexamined for over a decade, and in communitiesrelying on volunteer first responders, the critical importance of firstresponder alerting rivals that of interoperable voice communications.

Shortcomings with current alerting technologies are well documented inthe public record. One analysis of communication failure during periodsof profound crisis, the Arlington County After-Action Report on theResponse to the September 11 Terrorist attack on the Pentagon availablefrom Arlington County, Va., notes failures in all forms ofcommunications, from initial alerting to tactical voice communication.As stated in this report, during the events of Sep. 11, 2001, radiochannels became oversaturated, and interoperability problems amongjurisdictions and agencies persisted throughout the entire responseprocess. Otherwise compatible portable radios were preprogrammed in amanner that precluded interoperability. Cellular telephone systems andeven the public switched telephone network (PSTN) became congested andunusable.

This report cited traditional, 1-way paging systems as the most reliablemethod of alerting and notification. However, the lack of a pagingresponse channel left responders relying on other, less reliable formsof communication to escalate, reply to, or even confirm receipt of theirinstructions. These problems with cellular telephone networks and thePSTN limited the overall effectiveness of 1-way paging as an alertingsystem. This created serious operational challenges during the Sep. 11,2001 series of events, and they will create similar problems in any suchfuture events.

Even during day-to-day public safety activity, these alerting systemlimitations are problematic. In most cases, when volunteer groups arealerted by pager, incident commanders do not know who will actuallyrespond until personnel begin to arrive on scene. This delay postponesdecisions regarding escalation and mutual aid, letting critical timeslip by before commanders can identify and correct problems with theresponse. This time period can define the success or failure of theresponse process, presenting a critical need for simple, inexpensive,pager-type devices that can reply to group messages.

However, public safety agencies still rely on 25-year old, 1-way pagingtechnology as their core alerting solution. Many newer technologies areavailable, but for alerting, for a variety of reasons, thesetechnologies do not provide a meaningful improvement over 1-way paging.Existing mobile data systems are too expensive and too bulky forcontinual personal use. Digital and analog 2-way voice systems aresimilarly impractical for widespread, continuous deployment to volunteerforces. Several contemporary PCS technologies have integrated voice,data, and paging, but their complete dependence on commercial networksruns counter to commonly accepted reliability standards (e.g.,NFPA-1221). Private broadband solutions (such as IEEE 802.11 and 802.16)provide high-capacity data capabilities, but they lack the coverage,portability, and resilience required for wide-area alerting of largevolunteer forces. Contemporary 2-way paging systems perhaps come closestto meeting the alerting needs of public safety agencies. Like 1-waysystems, these pagers are small, inexpensive devices that operate forlong periods on battery power. However, these systems have no ability toacknowledge group messages.

More importantly, beyond the limitations described above, none of thesesystems provide a network interface sufficient to support acknowledgedgroup messaging. Requiring that the message originator individuallyalert each recipient adds considerable setup delay when alerting largegroups. This delay is eliminated when using network-supported call groupor common address messages, but the message originator must have priorknowledge of group membership. If a message originator does not know themembership of the paged group, there is no context to know whetherenough manpower is responding, or whether key individuals have beenmobilized. Manually maintaining accurate group membership rostersbetween networks and message originators would be impractical since thisis time consuming, difficult, and prone to errors. For a communicationssystem to provide usable, acknowledged group alerting capabilities topublic safety agencies, the network interface must provide groupmembership details when the group message is sent. Even if the mobiledevices were capable of acknowledging group messages, current systems donot provide message originators this membership information regardingthe alerted group. Simply guaranteeing that a message will be eventuallydelivered to all recipients is insufficient for public safety alertingapplications. The message originator (dispatcher, incident commander,etc.) needs immediate feedback as to who has been alerted and how theyhave replied, as well as information concerning those who cannot bereached.

A need therefore exists for a 2-way paging system that could be improvedwith group message acknowledgement and a suitable system interface. Sucha system would address the current shortcomings of public safetyalerting systems, and could also provide other benefits. For instance,it could act as an improved personnel accountability system (PAS) foron-scene communications. Incident commanders could instantly notifyresponders of imminent threats, such as impending chemical release orstructure failure, and verify receipt by all personnel. Responses couldbe expanded to include location information and health or equipmentstatus information. Such systems, made practical because of the highperformance and low cost of 2-way pagers, would both obviate traditionalproblems with interoperable on-scene communications and enable centraloversight of critical real-time safety data.

While public safety's need for a system capable of acknowledged groupalerting system is clear and well documented in the public record, nosuch system yet exists but for the present invention described herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above-described deficiencies in the prior art are overcome and anumber of advantages are realized by the present invention. Inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method ofefficient and deterministic alerting of a group of recipients over awireless network is provided. Each recipient comprises at least onemobile device capable of transmitting and receiving data. The methodcomprises the steps of: storing data relating to recipients, groups andgroup members, in a memory device, the data comprising a recipientidentifier for each of a plurality of recipients, one or more groupidentifiers corresponding to each of respective groups of recipients,the groups each comprising selected ones of the plurality of recipients,and group membership data comprising the recipient identifiers of theselected recipients corresponding to each of the group identifiers;providing the mobile device corresponding to each of the plurality ofrecipients with at least a subset of the data stored in the memorydevice comprising at least its corresponding recipient identifier;wirelessly transmitting a group message to the mobile devicecorresponding to each recipient in a selected group of recipients, eachof the mobile devices being configured to receive the broadcast groupmessage and send a response; monitoring for responses to the groupmessage from the selected group of recipients; and storingacknowledgement data in the memory device for the recipients, theacknowledgement data comprising an indication of response for each ofthe recipients that indicates that the group message was received bythat recipient, that the group message was read by that recipient, and areply was sent by that recipient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be further understood with reference to thefollowing description and the appended drawings, wherein like elementsare provided with the same reference numerals:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a group alerting system constructed in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a database used in a group alerting systemconstructed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a switch or server used in a groupalerting system constructed in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of communication between a client and a server usedin a group alerting system constructed in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a group alerting system constructed in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a group alerting system constructed inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a sequence of operations forbroadcasting a group message and group message acknowledgment inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a sequence of operations forreceiving, acknowledging and processing group message at a mobilereceiver in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 10 are views of mobile receivers constructed inaccordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Overview

In accordance with the present invention, a system and method areprovided for reliable, wireless group alerting in a system thatcomprises a database, switch, wireless network, and a plurality ofintelligent mobile receivers, and employs a modified two-way pagingprotocol based on group messaging capability of the Motorola ReFLEX™protocol and a novel ALOHA command for multicast acknowledgement (ACK)from mobile receivers. An encrypted message is broadcast to a groupaddress. This message is received by a number of mobile receivers, eachof which then acknowledges back to the system, decrypts the message,displays it to the user, and allows the user to respond, if they belongto the group address. The system employs centralized management tosimplify the role of the mobile users and administrators, minimizingconfiguration and operational human errors that would otherwise resultin confusion or lost messages. It also employs novel mechanisms tocompress the responses from the receivers to use minimal airtime. Thesystem is particularly relevant to public safety and criticalinfrastructure operators, where large group dispatches must be deliveredquickly and deterministically to a heavily distracted mobile workforce,and their responses must be delivered to the dispatch centerefficiently. As such, this system provides a comprehensive, meaningfulsolution to support distracted users with simple, resilient groupmessaging. It is to be understood that, while an exemplary embodiment isdescribed herein that uses paging technology, the present invention canalso be implemented using a cellular system, a wireless local areanetwork or more specifically WiFi, or other wireless communicationtechnology.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, asystem for group alerting employs a SPARKGAP™ network which utilizes amodified version of a protocol called ReFLEX™ developed by Motorola,Inc. for two-way paging and Narrowband PCS (NPCS). This system uses a12.5 KHz channel pair operating in the 900 MHz band. It is to beunderstood, however, that the group messaging of the present inventioncan be implemented using other types of protocols and network devices.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a SPARKGAP™Dispatch Protocol (SDP) is provided as a streamlined means for acomputer aided dispatch (CAD) system to communicate with two-way pagerson a SPARKGAP™ ReFLEX™ network. SPARKGAP™ is a ReFLEX™ network solutiondesigned to control one or more base stations and provide two-way pagingand mobile data coverage over an arbitrary geographical area. While thissolution is similar in some ways to traditional one-way paging, two-waypaging also differs significantly from its one-way counterpart. Two-waypagers acknowledge and reply to messages they receive, and they canoriginate their own messages. These additional capabilities outperformtraditional paging input protocols (e.g., SNPP, TAP and TNPP). Inaddition, while more suitable second generation paging protocols exist(e.g., SMTP, SMPP, and WCTP), these newer protocols do not expose groupmembership information necessary for effective, acknowledged groupmessaging.

The SDP of the present invention is a transactional, TCP/IP protocolwhere the CAD system is the client and the SPARKGAP™ is the server. Itfeatures synchronous, client-initiated request/response transactions aswell as asynchronous server-driven events, minimizing latency andcomplexity and delivering a rational solution to the public safetyspace.

A Dispatch/Response Layer (DRL) is also provided in accordance with thepresent invention as a layer above the ReFLEX™ Air Protocol to supportgroup messaging. The SDP and DRL are analogized as book ends in thatthey operate on either side of the ReFLEX™ network.

ReFLEX™ supports personal and information service (IS) messages.Personal messages involve a single recipient, and ReFLEX™ enables thereceiving pager to acknowledge reception, notify that the user has readthe message, and relay multiple-choice responses from the user. ISmessages involve an arbitrary group of recipients sharing common groupaddresses called IS addresses. ReFLEX pagers can be configured with onepersonal address and multiple IS addresses. IS messages are strictlyone-way and ReFLEX™ does not support any response or acknowledgementfrom the recipient group. The present invention, however, adds messageacknowledgement, message read notification, and multiple-choice responsecapability to IS messages, creating an infrastructure for reliablemulticast messaging within the ReFLEX™ protocol. As described furtherbelow, the present invention implements two significant changes toconventional 2-way paging. First, it defines a new ALOHA command(‘Multicast ACK Command’) used by a pager to reply to an IS message.Second, it defines a flag to select which devices are allowed to usethis feature.

System Description

A system 10 configured in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention is depicted in FIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 1, acentral switching system (hereinafter referred to generally as ‘Switch’)12 connects to a Wireless Network 14 and communicates with a number ofsubscriber devices (hereinafter referred to generally as ‘Receivers’) 16such as pagers, cell phones, or wireless personal data assistants(PDAs), or portable computer running WiFi. Each Receiver is assigned oneidentifying Primary Address and one or more multiple Group Addresses,and is capable of receiving broadcast alert messages directed to any ofits addresses. The Switch 12 comprises a Receiver Database 18 comprisingstored information describing receivers, their group membership, andconnects to a Wireless Network 14 such as a PCS network employing cellbroadcast, a paging network, or a broadcast-capable data networkemploying group addressing.

With reference to FIG. 2, the Receiver Database 18 comprises anindependent table of Receivers 22 and an independent table of Groups 24.Each Receiver row in table 22 contains an identifying personal address,as well as other information specific to a single device 16 and itsWireless Network architecture. Each Group row in table 24 contains anidentifying group address, an encryption key, and a symbolic name. Adependent table of Membership 26 provides the many-to-many relationshipbetween Receiver and Group rows. Each Membership row assigns onereceiver to one group. Membership rows contain GroupAddress andPersonalAddress columns, identifying a Group and Receiver row,respectively. Each Membership row also contains a ReceiverGroupNumbercolumn, a small mnemonic value that uniquely identifies the Group fromother Groups programmed into the same Receiver, and CC (‘carbon copy’)flag to define specific behavioral aspects of the Receiver. Receivers donot respond to messages received by group addresses if their CC flag isset, while they can respond to messages received by group addresses iftheir CC flag is clear. This mechanism allows users to monitor alerts tospecific groups, without expectation by the source of the alerts for aresponse.

As administrative changes occur to the Receiver Database 18,configuration transactions are executed over the air with individualReceivers 16 to synchronize their configuration memory with thecorresponding data in the Receiver Database 18. The system 10 thereforemaintains an up-to-date image in the configuration memory of eachReceiver 16, including a list of Group addresses, theirReceiverGroupNumber values, their symbolic names, encryption keys, andCC flags.

With reference to the flow charts in FIGS. 7 and 8, a ‘Client’ (e.g., acomputer-aided dispatch center, a human user, or other network client20) uses this system 10 to broadcast alert messages to groups ofReceivers 16. To do so, the client 20 composes a message, preferablyincluding display content and a list of response strings. The Client 20then connects to the Switch 12 and requests transmission of the messageto a particular group name (block 50). Depending on the architecture ofthe Wireless Network 14, either the Client 20 or the Wireless Network 14assigns an identifying field to the message such that user responses canbe associated with the correct message.

Upon receipt of the message, the Switch 12 responds to the Client 20with detailed information on the group such as a list or a count ofgroup members (block 52). It then encrypts the Group Message, assigns acyclical message sequence number, and transmits the message to the GroupAddress (block 54). As described in more detail below in connection withthe SPARKGAP™ dispatch protocol (SDP), the Switch 12 receives groupmessage acknowledgment responses from the receivers 16 (block 56) thatare associated with the broadcast group message (block 58) and providedto the Client 20 (block 60). Similarly, other types of responsesgenerated as a result of the group message are associated with thebroadcast group message (block 62) and provided to the Client 20 (block64).

Upon receiving the Group Message (block 80), the Receivers 16 decryptthe message and display the content, group name, and multiple choiceoptions to the user. Receivers employing paging technology that are notaddressed in the group do not receive the message. Alternatively, asystem 10 employing cellular broadcast of the message can receive butignore the message if it is not in the addressed group (block 82). EachReceiver 16 with a CC flag of false transmits one or moreacknowledgement codes through the Network 14 back to the Switch 12,specifying message received, message read notifications, and enumeratedmultiple-choice responses (block 84, 88 and 90). The datagram carryingthe acknowledgement code also includes the personal address of thereceiver 16, the ReceiverGroupNumber of the group address, and themessage sequence number of the message, which together efficiently anduniquely identify the specific group message at the specific Receiver16. Each Receiver 16 in the group with a CC flag of true does nottransmit an acknowledgment reply to the Switch 12 but rather merelydisplays the group message (blocks 84 and 86).

Each receiver 16 provides a configuration display for the user. Thisdisplay allows the user to specify, by group name, how notificationshould occur for messages received by each group address. Similarly, theSwitch provides an administrative human interface that allows a systemadministrator to set up and maintain the Receivers 16 belonging to eachGroup.

An Exemplary Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) System

The foregoing system description discusses the high-level organizationand data flow of an exemplary group messaging system 10 that can use anyof a variety of network types. With reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, thefollowing is a description of an exemplary type of network, that is, aReFLEX™ two-way paging network that incorporates the new group messaginglayer of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a SPARKGAP™ network controller12′ which is configured to implement group messaging in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 illustrates theuse of a SPARKGAP™ network controller or server 12′ in a systemconfiguration 10′ similar to FIG. 1. FIG. 5 illustrates another systemconfiguration 10″ in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

The SPARKGAP™ network controller or server 12′ in FIG. 3 providesprivate two-way paging, mobile data, and wireless email over inexpensivechannel pairs in the 900 MHz Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio (ESMR)band or the Narrowband Personal Communication Services (N-PCS) band.Coverage can be configured for a single building, multiple counties, orstate-wide service, for example, supporting small user devices such aspagers and personal data assistants (PDAs) with Motorola's proprietaryReFLEX™ protocol. Since the SPARKGAP™ server provides encryptedacknowledgement paging, responders reply immediately to CAD events andother messages directly from their pagers, and Advanced EncryptionStandard (AES) encryption protects all transmissions. Since theSPARKGAP™ server 12′ supports mobile applications, law enforcementofficers can use PDAs as receivers 16 to connect wirelessly withmunicipal, state, and federal databases to run license checks, warrants,and other mobile applications. Further, the SPARKGAP™ server is usefulfor automatic vehicle location. Small, inexpensive GPS sending units canbe used as receivers 16 to monitor vehicles and heavy equipment, sendingreal-time location and status information on a 24 hour per day, 7 dayper week basis. The SPARKGAP™ server 12′ can also support wirelesse-mail. Users can send and receive secure, wireless email using pagersand PDAs.

The SPARKGAP™ server 12′ can support one base station 15 or hundreds ofbase stations 15 in a network 14′, each consisting of a standard 900 MHzpaging transmitter and ReFLEX™ base receiver as shown in FIG. 5. Asingle station covers a 7-20 mile radius, and a network 14′ cancoordinate multiple stations using simulcast or cellular arrangements tooptimize coverage and capacity. A single channel pair can servethousands of users, and multiple channels can be aggregated foradditional capacity. Even under worst-case peak conditions, the ReFLEX™protocol uses centralized arbitration to prevent contention and channeloverloading.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, theSPARKGAP™ server 12′ maintains a full packet data layer on top ofpaging, which is one of the most robust and most reliable communicationtechnologies available, and leverages this foundation into a balancedset of features, coverage, and capacity. The SPARKGAP™ server 12′connects directly to computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, provides lowlatency messaging with virtually unbreakable security, and operates withthe lowest cost-per-user and cost-per-coverage-area of any wireless datasolution available. For additional resilience, redundant hot standbyunits maintain network operation even under catastrophic circumstances,keeping first responders connected when they are needed most.

As stated previously, the SPARKGAP™ protocol and associated server 12′provide a ReFLEX™ network solution designed to control one or more basestations 15 and provide two-way paging and mobile data coverage withuser devices 16 over an arbitrary geographical area. While this solutionis similar in some ways to traditional one-way paging, two-way pagingalso differs significantly from its one-way counterpart. Two-way pagersacknowledge and reply to messages they receive, and they can originatetheir own messages. These additional capabilities outperform traditionalpaging input protocols (e.g., SNPP, TAP and TNPP). In addition, whilemore suitable second generation paging protocols exist (e.g., SMTP,SMPP, and WCTP), these newer protocols do not expose group membershipinformation necessary for effective, acknowledged group messaging.

Client 20/Server 12 Protocol

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a SPARKGAP™Dispatch Protocol (SDP) is provided as a streamlined means for acomputer aided dispatch (CAD) system 20′ to communicate with two-waypagers 16 in, for example, a SPARKGAP™ ReFLEX™ network 14′. It is to beunderstood, however, that the group messaging of the present inventioncan be implemented using other types of protocols and network devices.The SDP of the present invention is a transactional, TCP/IP protocolwhere the CAD system is the client 20′ and the SPARKGAP™ networkcontroller 12′ is the server. It features synchronous, client-initiatedrequest/response transactions, as well as asynchronous server-drivenevents, to minimize latency and complexity and deliver a rationalsolution to the afore-mentioned issues relating to public safety andrapid response and communication. With reference to FIG. 6, the serveror switch 12 or 12′ comprises a memory device 32 and processor 34, whichcan be programmed to implement the SDP, as well as an interface 30 tothe network 14 or 14′.

With further reference to FIG. 4, when employing SDP, the CAD system orclient 20′ connects to the SPARKGAP™ server 12′ using TCP/IP on port55000. The CAD system or client 20′ initiates transactions with theSPARKGAP™ server 12′ using a synchronous request/response model, thatis, the CAD system 10′ sends the SPARKGAP™ server 12′ a request from aclient 20′, the SPARKGAP™ sever 12′ takes an action, and then theSPARKGAP™ server 12′ sends the CAD system client 20′ a response.Additionally, in order to minimize latency in delivering responses fromthe pagers, the SPARKGAP™ server 12′ also sends asynchronous eventnotifications to the CAD system client 20′ regarding message progressand responses from individual pagers.

The SDP will now be described in further detail. A description ofprotocol data units, transactions and events follows.

1. SDP Protocol Data Units

SDP requests, responses, and events are implemented as atomic protocoldata units (PDUs) transmitted by the client 20 or 20′ and server 12 or12′ using preferably a TCP/IP network. PDUs are serialized, andpreferably always transmitted contiguously in their entirety. In otherwords, a node preferably never interrupts a partially transmitted PDU tobegin another PDU. A PDU is preferably encoded using ASCII plain text,and consists of an identifying header followed by a collection ofname/value attributes enclosed, as shown below, in curly brackets(braces).

1.1 Syntax

PDUs are preferably encoded using ASCII plain text according to thefollowing specification:

Client-to-server transmission syntax:

  “request” <request-number> <request-   type> “{“ <attribute-list> “}“  Server-to-client transmission syntax:   “event” <event-type> “{“<attribute-list> “}“   “response” <request-number> “{“ attribute-list“}“   where, <request-number> : := <integer> <request-type> ::= token<event-type> : : token <attribute-list> : : <attribute> [<attribute-listI <attribute> : := attribute-name ““ attribute-value “;“<attribute-name> : : token <attribute-value> : := <integer> <string><integer> : := Base10 Integer Expression <string> : : string enclosed indouble quotes

An example PDU exchange is illustrated as follows:

CAD to SPARKGAP ™ SPARKGAP ™ to CAD request 5066 SendMessage {CadEventID=”#CTYF041820772”; MessageID=”2004”; DestinationID=Fire1;Display=”Calling All Cars”; AlertResponse=0; ReadResponse=1; MCR=”On MyWay”; MCR=”Busy”; MCR=”On Scene”; } Response 5066 { ResultCode=0;ResultText=”Message Queued”; }; Event PagerResponse {Timestamp=”07082004130553EST”; MessageID=”2004”;CadEventID=”#CTYF041820772”; PagerID=”229030020”; PagerName=”Doe, John”;MessageRead=1; }

1.2 Attribute Value Types

The SDP of the present invention preferably supports two attributetypes, with string or integer values. Integer values are simply unsignedintegers with no more than 32 significant bits, described using base-10notation. Strings are simply printable ASCII strings contained in doublequotes, and supporting the following escape sequences:

\n New Line \r Carriage Return \“ Double Quote \\ Backslash \### Anoctal value

1.3 The Timestamp Attribute

All events contain a timestamp attribute marking the creation of theevent. A timestamp value contains a string in a specific format:

MMDDYYYYHHMMSST

Where

MM is the 2-digit month (1-12)

DD is the 2-digit day of the month (1-31)

YYYY is the 4-digit year

HH is the 2 digit hour (0-23)

MM is the 2 digit minute (0-59)

SS is the 2 digit second (0-59)

T is the 1-4 character time zone abbreviation

1.4 Attribute Order

In some cases, attribute order is significant. For illustrativepurposes, receiving nodes are expected to read and decode attributesfrom first to last in the PDU.

2. Transactions

A transaction is exchanged on the network as a request from the client,some action by the server, and a response from the server. The SDPpreferably includes three transactions described below:

Login

SendMessage

QueryMessage

2.1 Login

The Login transaction establishes the identity of the CAD client 20 or20′ for purposes of reconnection. Should a TCP/IP connection beterminated, the SPARKGAP™ sever 12′ will queue events awaiting areconnection.

2.1.1 Request

The request PDU contains the following attributes:

User (string, mandatory): This value contains the name or identity ofthe CAD system client 20 or 20′, which preferably must match an entry ina SPARKGAP™ CAD account database in the database 18.

Password (string, optional): This value contains the access password forthe CAD system client 20 or 20′. If the CAD account is set up without apassword, then this attribute is not required.

Version (integer, mandatory): This value specifies the protocol versionthat the CAD system client 20 or 20′ is requesting for this session. Theversion is conveyed as the major number multiplied by 100 and added tothe minor number. For illustrative purposes, this attribute value is100.

2.1.2 Response

The response PDU contains the following attributes:

ResultCode (integer, mandatory): This value contains the result code ofthe transaction.

ResultText (string, optional): This value contains a human readablemessage string describing the result of the transaction.

Version (integer, mandatory): This value specifies the protocol versionthat the SPARKGAP™ sever 12′ is supporting for this session. The versionis conveyed as the major number multiplied by 100 and added to the minornumber. For illustrative purposes, this attribute value is 100.

System (string, optional): This value contains an identifyingdescription of the SPARKGAP™-based system 10′.

2.1.3 Example

This example illustrates a CAD system client 20 or 20′ logging into aSPARKGAP™ server 12′ as user “ECD911,” requesting version 1.0 of theprotocol. The SPARKGAP™ server 12′ grants the login and acknowledgesversion 1.0 support.

CAD to SPARKGAP ™ SPARKGAP ™ to CAD request 5066 login { User=”ECD911”;Password=”GHTy778”; Version=100; } Response 5066 { ResultCode=0;Version=100; ResultText=”Connection Complete”; System=”Sparkgap ESN04000022”; }

2.2 SendMessage

The SendMessage transaction queues a message for delivery for one ormore pager recipients 16. The transaction only queues the message forprocessing. As the message is processed and responses are received, asequence of events will convey the results back to the CAD system 10′.

2.2.1 Request

The request PDU contains the following attributes

MessageID (string, mandatory): This value uniquely identifies themessage from the client (CAD) 20 or 20′ perspective. An identicalMessageID attribute will be included in all subsequent events related tothis message.

CadEventID (string, optional): This value uniquely identifies theprecipitating CAD event. If present, an identical CadEventID attributewill be included in all subsequent events related to this message.

DestinationID (string, mandatory): This value specifies the targetaudience for the message. The DestinationlD corresponds to the name of agroup of pagers or an individual pager in the SPARKGAP™ database. ThePDU may contain multiple DestinationID attributes, in which case themessage will be directed to an aggregated group representing the nettotal of all recipients.

GroupDetail (integer, optional): This value conveys the client's desireto receive detailed information about group recipients in thetransaction response. If this field is present and set to a non-zerovalue, then the response will include a PagerID and PagerName attributefor each constituent number of the group. If the GroupDetail attributeis not present or set to zero, then this information will not beincluded in the response.

Display (string, mandatory): This value contains the actual displaymessage to be read by message recipients. Multiple Display attributesare arranged in the order they appear into a single unbroken message.

AlertResponse (integer, mandatory): If present and set to a non-zerovalue, this value instructs the SPARKGAP™ server 12′ to notify the CADclient 20′ as pagers 16 receive the message and alert their users.

ReadResponse (integer, optional): If present and set to a non-zerovalue, this value instructs the SPARKGAP™ server 12′ to notify the CADclient 20′ as users display the message on their pager.

MCR (string, optional): If present, MCR attributes specify“multiple-choice responses” to be presented to the user as replyoptions. Multiple MCR attributes may be included in the request. Thefirst MCR encountered is number 0, the second is number 1, and so on. Asusers reply to the message, the SPARKGAP™ server 12′ will relayappropriate PagerReply events to the CAD client 20′.

2.2.2 Response

The response PDU contains the following attributes:

ResultCode (Integer, mandatory): This value contains the result code ofthe transaction.

ResultText (string, optional): This value contains a human readablemessage string describing the result of the transaction.

GroupSize: This value specifies the total number or recipient members inthe group.

PagerID (String, mandatory): This value contains the identification ofone pager in the aggregate destination group. The presence of thisattribute signifies that a corresponding PagerName attribute willfollow. Together, these two fields are duplicated for each member of thetotal pager destination group.

PagerName (string, optional): The value contains the name of the pageruser corresponding to the last PagerID value.

2.2.3 Example

This example illustrates a CAD system or client 20′ sending the message“Calling all cars” to two dispatch groups, Fire1 and Fire34. The CADsystem client 20 requests notification from each pager 16 when the usersread the messages, but not when the pagers alert. The request includes aCadEventID and a MessageID so that the CAD system can properlycategorize forthcoming events related to this message. The SPARKGAP™server 12′ queues the message and returns a successful result code inthe response.

CAD to SPARKGAP ™ SPARKGAP ™ to CAD request 5066 sendmessage {CadEventID=”#CTYF041820772”; MessageID=”2004”; DestinationID=”Fire1”;DestinationID=”Fire34”; GroupDetail=1; Display=”Calling All Cars”;AlertResponse=0; ReadResponse=1; MCR=”On My Way”; MCR=”Busy”;MCR=”Already On Scene”; } Response 5066 { ResultCode=0;ResultText=”Message Queued”; GroupSize=892; }

2.3 QueryMessage

The CAD client 20′ initiates a QueryMessage transaction to discoverpresent status of a previously sent message. The transaction responseprovides details about the message status as well as the status of allmessage recipients.

2.3.1 Request

MessageID (string, mandatory): This value identifies the message to bequeried. It preferably must match the MessageID attribute of theSendMessage request that created the message.

2.3.2 Response

The response includes a message status, and a number of member statusvalues in the form of an attribute group, PagerID, PagerName,PagerStatus. These three attributes may appear multiple times in theresponse to convey the status of multiple pagers in the message'saggregate destination group.

ResultCode (integer, mandatory): This value contains the result code ofthe transaction. If this value is not zero, then the MessageStatus,PagerID, PagerName, and PagerStatus fields will not be present.

ResultText (string, optional): This value contains a human readablemessage string describing the result of the transaction.

Mess ageStatus (integer, mandatory): This value contains the presentstatus of the message, as described in the table below.

PagerID (string, mandatory): This value contains the identification ofone pager in the aggregate destination group. The presence of thisattribute represents that a corresponding PagerName attribute mayfollow, and that a PagerStatus attribute will follow. Together, thesetwo or three fields are duplicated for each member of the pager grouptotal pager destination group.

PagerName (string, optional): This value contains the name of the pageruser corresponding to the last PagerID value.

PagerStatus (string, mandatory): This value contains the status of thepager user corresponding to the most recent PagerID value in the PDU.PagerStatus values are enumerated in the table below.

PagerStatus and MessageStatus value enumerations are described below:

PagerStatus Values Value Description “Pending” The message is pendingfor transmission. “Sent” The message has been sent to the device but notyet acknowledged in any way. “Received” The message has beensuccessfully received by the device. “Read” The message has been read bythe user. “Answered” The user has answered the message

MessageStatus Values Meaning Description “Pending” The message ispending for transmission. “Sent” The message has been transmitted and isopen for replies. “Closed” The message is closed.

2.3.3 Example

This example illustrates a CAD system client 20′, querying for themessage 2004. The SPARKGAP™ server 12′ returns a MessageStatus of “Sent”to indicate that the message has been sent, and it returns individualdeliver status codes on the four members of the group.

CAD to SPARKGAP ™ SPARKGAP ™ to CAD request 5067 sendmessage {MessageID=”2004”; } Response 5067 { Result=0; MessageStatus=”Sent”;PagerID=”229030020”; PagerName=”Doe, John”; PagerStatus=”Read”;PagerID=”229030109”; PagerName=”Doe, Jane; PagerStatus=”Sent”;PagerID=”229030043” PagerName=”Orwell, George”; PagerStatus=”Read”;PagerID=”229030025”; PagerName=”Miller, Mark”; PagerStatus=”Answered”; }

3 Events

SDP allows the SPARKGAP™ server 12′ to send asynchronous events to theCAD system client 20′ to notify it of message activity on the network.SDP includes two events:

PagerReply

MessageComplete

3.1 PagerReply

This event informs the CAD system client 20′ that a recipient pager 16has responded in some way to a message. The event contains the followingattributes

Timestamp (string, mandatory): This value specifies the time that theSPARKGAP™ server 12′ received the information from the pager.

MessageID (string, mandatory): This value identifies the message,matching the MessageID attribute value of the SendMessage request thatcreated the message.

CadEventID (string, mandatory): This field is preferably only present ifa CadEventID attribute existed in the SendMessage request that createdthe message. If it is present, it matches the value in the SendMessagerequest.

PagerID (string, mandatory): This value contains the identification ofthe pager issuing the reply.

PagerName (string, optional): This value contains a descriptive name ofthe pager user.

UserAlerted (integer, optional): If this attribute is present and itsvalue is non-zero, it means that the message was successfully receivedby the pager 16 and the user was alerted.

MessageRead (integer, optional): If this attribute is present, it meansthat the user displayed the message on the pager 16.

McrValue (integer, optional): If this attribute is present, the userselected a multiple-choice reply value indicated by the value.

McrText (string, optional): If this attribute is present, it containsthe actual text of the selected multiple-choice reply.

MessageText (string, optional): If this attribute is present, itcontains a manually typed response from the pager.

The PDU preferably will not aggregate events, but rather it will containeither UserAlerted, MessageRead, McrValue (and McrText), or MessageText.It preferably will not contain a combination of these fields. Eachdistinct pager response will arrive in its own event PDU with its owntimestamp value.

In the following example, Pager 229030020 (John Doe) has responded tomessage 2004 with multiple-choice response number 2.

CAD to SPARKGAP ™ SPARKGAP ™ to CAD Event PagerResponse {Timestamp=”07082004130553EST”; MessageID=”2004”;CadEventID=”#CTYF041820772”; PagerID=”229030020”; PagerName=”Doe, John”;UserAlerted=1; MessageRead=1; McrValue=2; McrText=”Already On Scene”; }

3.2 MessageComplete

This event informs the CAD system client 20′ that a message hastransitioned to the closed state. The message record will remain inmemory 18 for some time, but the system will no longer accept pagerresponses for it. This event contains the following attributes:

Timestamp (string, mandatory): This value specifies the time that theSPARKGAP™ closed the message.

MessageID (string, mandatory): This value identifies the message,matching the MessageID attribute of the SendMessage request that createdthe message.

CadEventID (string, mandatory): This value is only present if aCadEventID attribute existed in the original SendMessage request thatcreated the message, and if it is present, it matches the value in theSendMessage request.

In this example, SPARKGAP™ announces that Message 2004 is closed:

CAD to SPARKGAP ™ SPARKGAP ™ to CAD Event MessageComplete {Timestamp=”07082004130553EST”; MessageID=”2004”;CadEventID=”#CTYF041820772”; }

Result Codes

SDP supports the following result codes:

0 Transaction Completed Successfully

1000 Badly formed PDU

1001 Unknown recognized Request

2000 Invalid User/Password

3000 Message Queue Full—Try Again Later

3001 Unknown MessageID

3002 Unknown DestinationID

3003 Missing Required Attribute

Server or Switch 12/Mobile Receiver 16 Protocol

A Dispatch/Response Layer will now be described which is a layer abovethe ReFLEX™ Air Protocol that supports group messaging between a client20 or 20′ and a mobile device 16 in accordance with the presentinvention. The SDP and DRL are analogized as book ends in that theyoperate on either side of a ReFLEX network 14′.

1. Introduction

The present invention preferably provides for acknowledged groupmessaging support for the ReFLEX™ protocol. The ReFLEX™ protocolsupports personal and information service (IS) messages. Personalmessages involve a single recipient, and ReFLEX™ enables the receivingpager to acknowledge reception, notify that the user has read themessage, and relay multiple-choice responses from the user. IS messagesinvolve an arbitrary group of recipients sharing common group addressescalled an IS addresses. ReFLEX pagers can be configured with onepersonal address and multiple IS addresses. IS messages are strictlyone-way, and ReFLEX™ does not support any response or acknowledgementfrom the recipient group.

The present invention adds message acknowledgement, message readnotification, and multiple-choice response capability to IS messages,creating an infrastructure for reliable multicast messaging within theReFLEX™ protocol. To this end, the present invention defines a new ALOHAcommand (Multicast ACK Command), and defines a flag in the ‘ChangeRegistration Command’ to select which devices are allowed to use thisfeature.

The Dispatch/Response Layer (DRL) provides efficient andhigh-performance group and personal messaging over a ReFLEX™ network 14′between the server 12′ and the user devices or receivers 16. DRL usesbinary IS vectors and multicast ACK commands to deliver dispatchmessages to groups of users and receive individual responses. It alsoprovides a simple structure for personal messaging between individuals,and it is designed to operate over the Secure Paging Layer (SPL). SPL isan obvious, open-source encryption standard based on AES. This system 10or 10′, however, can be implemented with other encryption methods.

2. Overview

DRL supports both group and personal messages.

2.1 Group Messages

Group Messages are broadcast to a group of one or more pagers 16 usingReFLEX™ IS addresses. A Group Message includes a specially-formattedReFLEX™ binary message broadcast by the network 14′ to a group of pagers16, and a number of ReFLEX™ Multicast ACK Command responses from thepagers 16 back to the network 14′. This type of message can contain adisplay message, a supervisory command, or both.

2.2 Personal Message

Personal messages are sent between a single pager 16 and the network 14′using a ReFLEX™ personal address. A Personal Message includes aspecially-formatted ReFLEX™ binary message sent from the network to apager, or a ReFLEX™ long inbound message from the pager to the network.Additionally, pagers may transmit ReFLEX™ ACK Responses, Multiple-ChoiceCommands, and Transaction Control Commands in response to forwardmessages.

The present invention provides for acknowledged group messaging supportfor ReFLEX™ protocol. The Multicast ACK command is a new ALOHA commandused by a pager 16 to reply to an IS message. This command's MSN refersnot to the device personal address, but instead to an IS addressselected from the device codeplug with a 4-bit enumeration field. The30-bit IS address itself is synchronized between the pager 16 and itshome switch or server 12′, using means similar to those provided by theopen ReFLEX Exchange Protocol (RXP) and the Motorola GenericOver-The-Air Programming Protocol (GOTAP).

The ‘Multicast ACK Command’ contains a message sequence number (MSN), a4-bit IS address identifier (ai) and a 7-bit reply identifier (mr). TheIS address identifier specifies the IS address programmed into thepager, and MSN identifies the message being replied to, and the replyidentified indicates the enumerated reply code.

The Multicast ACK Command reply identifier can specify responsespre-programmed in the pager (codes 0 through 63), responses embedded inthe group message (codes 64 through 111), or supervisory messages, asfollows:

124 Message received by pager

125 Message received by pager and read by user

126 Message received but could not be decoded

127 Message received with transmission errors

The network 14′ responds to the ‘MulticastACK Command’ with a ‘StandardACK’ (Motorola ReFLEX 2.7.3 Specification, Section 3.10.9.2). In orderto control where this feature is available (and which devices may useit,), bit d4 of the ‘Registration Grant’ type ‘Change RegistrationCommand’ (3.10.8.1) is redefined from ‘reserved’ to RM. An RM value ofzero restricts the pager from transmitting the ‘MulticastACK Command’.An RM value of one enables the pager to transmit the ‘MulticastACKCommand.’

On a per-message basis, the RE and RD bits (alphanumeric and binaryvectors, respectively) determine whether the Multicast ACK Command maybe transmitted for any particular IS message. If RE is 1 (or RD=0), andRM=1 during the last ‘Registration Grant’ seen by a device 16, then itmay transmit ‘Multicast ACK Command’ packets related to the message.Application protocols (such as Motorola FLEXSuite, and higher-levelprotocols) will determine which specific ‘Multicast ACK Command’ areappropriate for the message.

2.3 Device 16 Capabilities And Behavior

2.3.1 Multicast ACK Command

DRL uses ReFLEX™ IS addresses for personal messaging. Compliant DRLDevices 16 preferably support the Multicast ACK Command described above,and they support an additional non-volatile configuration bit for eachIS address in their codeplug. This flag is called the ‘CC’ or “carboncopy” flag, and it serves to disable Multicast ACK Command responses onthe specified IS address. The device 16 preferably supports at least 16IS addresses and 16 CC bits, which are automatically synchronized overthe air using GOTAP or similar means.

2.3.2 Performance

DRL is designed to support public safety, law enforcement, and otherapplications where timely delivery of personal and group messages isparamount. DRL devices 16 preferably support ReFLEX™ protocol version2.7.3 reduced latency operation, in which they will examine each framefor IS or personal messages.

2.3.3 User Interface

DRL messages follow the ‘e-mail’ model and can include a from-address, ato-address, a subject and a message body. DRL devices 16 include one ormore IS addresses configured for DRL group messaging, including a CCflag (set through GOTAP) and a group name (such as ladder46′, ‘Hazmat’,or ‘BerkelyEMS^(T)) maintained through DRL. Users can select alertoptions per IS address, using the symbolic name of the address to assistthe user in organizing his in-box. Personal messages and group messagescan appear in the same mailbox; group addresses preferably display thename of the group as the from address.

3. Message Structure

DRL preferably uses ReFLEX™ long binary messages adhering to theMotorola Route to Alternate Host (RAH) protocol as described in theMotorola FlexSuite™ of Enabling Protocols Specification Document.Preferably all DRL messages include a Message Header followed by MessageContent.

3.1 Message Header

Headers can include the RAH SIF (Ox11) and RAH Address ID (0x2d),followed by a DRL message type, as follows

DRL Message Header Field Name Byte Length Description SIF 1 RAH SIF(0x11) Address ID 1 RAH Address ID (0x2d) Type 1 DRL Message Type

3.2 Message Content

Content type is identified by the Type field, as follows:

Type Description 0 Ignore Message 1 Group Message 2 Personal ForwardMessage 3 Personal Reverse Message 4 Personal Response Message 5-255Reserved

The message content consists of a sequence of octets followingimmediately after the Type field of the long message header.

4. Group Message

A Group Message preferably consists of a one-to-many broadcast messagewith recipient confirmation and reply options. Group alerts aretransmitted as ReFLEX™ 1-Way binary IS messages with a DRL Type code of1.

4.1 Forward Message

The group dispatch message initiates the group dispatch transaction,conveying a display message to a number of pagers. It is a DRL longmessage transmitted using a ReFLEX™ 1-way personal or IS address, and itcontains a 1-byte Control field, and a Display field consisting of anumber of null-terminated strings encoded according to the PACK7 formatdescribed in Appendix D of the Motorola FlexSuite™ of Enabling ProtocolsSpecification Document.

Dispatch Message Content Field Name Byte Length Description Control 1Control Flags Opcode 1 Execution opcode Operand Variable Executionoperand Display Variable NULL-Terminated Display String List.

The Control field specifies how the pager 16 should respond. Opcode andOperand fields specify auxiliary action the device 16 should take inaddition to or instead of displaying the message, and the Display fieldcontains the actual display message.

4.1.1 Control Field

The Control field provides guidance on how the pager 16 should respondto the message:

Control Flag Definitions Bit Name Description 0 AckReceipt Acknowledgereceipt of the message 1 AckRead Acknowledge reading of the message 2UseMcr Provide the user a multiple choice response 3-7 Reserved Reservedflags (set to zero)

An AckReceipt value of 1 instructs the pager 16 to generate a ReFLEX™Multicast ACK when the message is received, and an AckRead value of 1instructs the pager to generate a Multicast ACK when the message is readby the user. A UseMCR value of 1 instructs the pager provide amultiple-choice response list to the user, including responsesprogrammed into the pager as well as responses embedded into the messageitself.

4.1.2 Operand/Opcode Field

Opcode and Operand fields specify auxiliary action the device 16 shouldtake in addition to (or instead of) displaying the message. The Opcodefield is a one byte value divided into upper and lower 4-bit fields. Theupper 4 bits specifies the octet length of Operand, and the lower 4 bitsspecifies the action to be taken. The lower 4 bits use the followingenumerations:

Operand Values Opcode Operation Description 0 No Operation Take noaction 1 Assign Name Assign Group Name to Address 2 Execute ExecuteAlerting Sequence 3-15 Reserved Reserved

4.1.2.1 Opcode ‘0’—No Operation

This opcode specifies no operation and should be ignored.

4.1.2.2 Opcode ‘1’—Assign Group Name to Address

This opcode instructs the receiver 16 to assign a symbolic group name tothe IS address, which are contained as one character per byte in thenext 0-15 bytes. An operand length of zero implies ‘no name,’ while alength of 1-15 bytes indicate a 1-15 character long name.

4.1.2.3 Opcode ‘2’—Execute Alerting Sequence

This opcode instructs the receiver to execute a pre-programmed, externalalerting sequence, such as a generating a public address tone, closing arelay contact or performing a sequence of relay closures, or printingthe message. The first operand byte specifies the sequence to execute,which defaults to zero if no operand data is present. Operand data bytes1-15, if present, contain additional parameters specific to thesequence. Devices that do not support this feature should ignore thisopcode.

4.1.3 Display Field

The Display field is one continuous Pack7 field containing a list ofnull-terminated strings. These strings include, in order, the messagesubject, the message body, and up to 16 optional multiple-choiceresponse strings. The subject and body are displayed to the user, andthe response strings are presented as a list.

4.2 Multicast ACK Command Response

Under certain circumstances, the device may respond to the message withone or more Multicast ACK Commands. This behavior depends on 4 factors:

values of the RD bit in the message vector,

the Control field of the message,

the RM value of the last ‘Registration Grant’ seen by a device, and

the Multicast Ack Enabled flag of the IS address used

If RD=1 and RM=0, or Multicast Ack Enabled=0 then this command must notbe used. Otherwise, the command should be sent under the followingcircumstances:

Upon Message Receipt

-   -   If AckReceipt of the Control field is 1, then the device 16        queues a Multicast ACK Command with mr=124 into its transmit        queue when it receives a complete, error-free message.

Upon the User Viewing the Message

-   -   If AckRead of the Control field is 1, then the device 16 queues        a Multicast ACK Command with mr=125 into its transmit queue when        it receives a complete, error-free message.

Upon the User Selecting a Reply

-   -   If UseMcr of the Control field is 1, then the device 16 gives        the user the option to select a reply string from an aggregated        list including the replies programmed into the device and the        replies embedded in the Display field. If the user selects a        string, then the device 16 queues a Multicast ACK Command with        mr=[0,111] into its transmit queue. Codes 0-63 are reserved for        responses programmed in the pager, and codes 64-111 are reserved        for any response strings in the Display field. The user may        respond to the message multiple times.

Subsequent Multicast ACK Commands associated with the same message canbe optimized, and some of them can be overlooked without loss ofinformation. For instance, an mr of 125 or an mr in the [0,111] rangeimplies that the message has been received and viewed. Depending on howfast the user reads and/or responds to a message, and depending on theALOHA randomization interval of the system, the pager 16 may be able toskip transmission of Multicast ACK Response commands with mr values of124 and 125 and simply transmit the multiple-choice reply code [0,111].When possible, this is desirable in order to reduce congestion of thereturn channel.

5. Personal Message

A Personal Message is a human-readable message carried from one point toanother. Personal Forward Messages are sent by the network 14′ to onepager 16, and Personal Reverse Messages are sent by the pager 16 to thenetwork 14′. The DRL model for Personal Messages is similar to anabbreviated version of SMTP.

5.1 Personal Forward Message

A Personal Forward Message is transmitted by the network 14′ to thepager 16. It contains Display field consisting of a number ofnull-terminated strings in FlexSuite Pack7 format.

This message type can be delivered as a one-way or two-way long binarymessage to single pager 16, with acknowledgement, read response, andmultiple-choice replies transmitted back using the ReFLEX™ signalinglayer. Display contains an ordered list of strings: a from-address, asubject, a body, and an optional list of multiple-choice replies.

5.2 Personal Reverse Message

A Personal Reverse Message is transmitted by the pager 16 to the network14′. It contains Display field consisting of a number of null-terminatedstrings in FlexSuite Pack7 format.

This message is delivered as a ReFLEX™ long inbound binary message.Display contains an ordered list of strings: a to-address, a subject,and a body.

Exemplary Tactical Alerting System

ReFLEX pagers are not fixed on a single channel for service, but ratherscan continuously for a better, stronger, or more appropriate signal toserve them. This background scanning facilitates the present inventionsince it is this ability that allows these devices to seek out thecorrect channel for temporary use at the scene of an event.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, apager 16 is provided as shown in FIGS. 6, 9A, 9B and 10. With referenceto FIG. 6, the pager 16 comprises a processor 38 programmed to implementthe DRL, among other operations, a memory 36 for storing, for example,group configuration information, a display 44 and an interface 40 to thenetwork 14. The pager 16 can be connected directly to a user interface42 for facilitating customization of the group configurationinformation, for example, to allow the pager 16 to respond differentlyto messages directed to different group addresses. As shown in FIGS. 9Aand 9B, the pager 16 has a display for displaying different screens anddifferent options thereon. For example, the main screen shown on thedisplay 44 in FIG. 9A indicates time and date and a menu listing suchoptions as “VIEW RECEIVED MSGS”, “VIEW TRANSMITTED MSGS”, “SEND AMESSAGE” and “SERVICE SETTINGS”. As shown in FIG. 9B, the pager 16 canbe provided with a charger console 100 which can also have an input tothe user interface 42. As shown in FIG. 10, the pager 16 can be providedwith a QWERTY keypad 102, among other buttons and controls.

The pager 16 can be used by responding personnel on a day-to-day basisas a wide-area alerting device, but also as a tactical alerting deviceat the scene of an incident. The pager preferably operates on anyprogrammed ReFLEX™2.7.x network. If an on-scene SPARKGAP™ (for instance,mounted into a mobile communications center) is operating with its ownbase station and an RXP connection to the wide area system, the pager 16can register with the on-scene SPARKGAP™ when the responder arrives.When the pager 16 arrives at the site of an event with an establishedon-scene network such as the switch 12′ (e.g., the SPARKGAP™ server),the pager 16 automatically finds this system 10, switches to the properchannel, and registers. As long as that pager 16 is in the coverage areaof the on-scene SPARKGAP™ server 12′, it will be a part of the communityof pagers 16 receiving messages from the command post for thatparticular occurrence. Once the on-scene network is shutdown, or theresponder leaves the coverage area, the pager 16 will re-register on thewide-area system.

The on-scene SPARKGAP™, and pagers, can be preloaded with one or more ISaddresses reserved for tactical alerting. Incident commanders can sendmessages to these IS addresses to notify users on-scene of impendingtactical issues, such as imminent structural failure or impendingchemical release. In addition to the ability to automatically find thechannel being used at the scene of a major event, the pager 16 is alsoequipped with louder than normal (>85 dB at 30 cm) alerting tone andstrong vibrator to ensure the user is aware of an incoming message. Withappropriate configuration, tactical alert messages can be sent tospecific groups of user, or to all users on scene. Additionally, AESencryption is available to prevent inappropriate interception oftactical alerts.

Because the on-scene system is connected by RXP to the wide-areanetwork, pagers also continue to send and receive normal personal andgroup messages from the wide area system. However, the pager can beconfigured with unique alert tones to allow personnel to recognizeincoming tactical messages, and the on-scene SPARKGAP can eventemporarily configure local devices so that they only alert the userwhen tactical messages are received.

Modern wide-area paging networks utilize the 900 MHz band of radiospectrum. Some of these channels are dedicated to the NPCS Radio Service(FCC Part 24) and others are found in Business and Industrial RadioService (FCC Part 90) making them available to a wide range of systemoperators. The pager 16 uses frequencies in either or both of thesechannel segments based on programming within the paging device itself.

When a major public safety event occurs, it is normal for the involvedagencies to establish a command post at or near the scene of the event.Many times this is a motor home-style vehicle equipped to resemble acontrol room with banks of computers, radios and a meeting area used forstaff briefings. As a critical part of this command post, a SPARKGAP™server 12′ can be installed to control the ReFLEX™ paging devices 16carried to the scene by various responders. Once this system 10′ (FIG.4) is activated, pagers 16 that are preprogrammed with the on-scenechannels would lock onto the network at the scene and check in. Adisplay of all registered paging devices could be used to monitor thepresence of personnel as they arrive.

If it was necessary to call a general evacuation of the scene, thismessage would be sent via the server 12′ and each device 16 wouldacknowledge receipt and reading of the message. Paging allows themessage to be sent to multiple users at the same time. The site commandpersonnel would have an instant view of those who did not respond to thealert and could take immediate alternative action to get the message tothem.

In this way, paging is analogous to an electronic equivalent of alifeline attached to each person at the scene. Notifying them toevacuate by sending an alert message would be like pulling on that lineand getting a tug as a response. The structure of a paging networkprovides the highest efficiency when it comes to alerting multiple usersto an important message. And more importantly, the system 10 or 10′ ofthe present invention gives the incident commander a confirmedindication that the message was received and read by the personnel towhom it was sent.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the presentinvention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing fromthe spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presently disclosedembodiments are therefore considered in all respects to be illustrativeand not restricted. The scope of the invention is indicated by theappended claims rather than the foregoing description and all changesthat come within the meaning and range and equivalence thereof areintended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of alerting a group of recipients over awireless network and providing acknowledged group messaging, eachrecipient comprising at least one mobile device capable of transmittingand receiving data, the method comprising the steps of: storing datarelating to recipients, groups and group members, in a memory device,the data comprising a recipient identifier for each of a plurality ofrecipients, one or more group identifiers corresponding to each ofrespective groups of recipients, the groups each comprising selectedones of the plurality of recipients, and group membership datacomprising the recipient identifiers of the selected recipientscorresponding to each of the group identifiers; providing the mobiledevice corresponding to each of the plurality of recipients with atleast a subset of the data stored in the memory device comprising atleast its corresponding recipient identifier; wirelessly transmitting agroup message to the mobile device corresponding to each recipient in aselected group of recipients, each of the mobile devices beingconfigured to receive the broadcast group message and send a response;monitoring for responses to the group message from the selected group ofrecipients; and storing acknowledgement data in the memory device forthe recipients, the acknowledgement data comprising an indication ofresponse for each of the recipients that indicates that the groupmessage was received by that recipient, that the group message was readby that recipient, and a reply was sent by that recipient.
 2. A methodas claimed in claim 1, wherein the group message is sent using at leastone of paging communications, cellular communications, two-way radiocommunications, wireless local-area network employing IEEE 802.11standard for “Wi Fi”, wireless metropolitan-area network employing IEEE802.16 standard for “WiMAX”, wireless area network employing IEEE 802standard communications, wireless broadband network, and wirelessnetwork.
 3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the responses aresent using at least one of paging communications, cellularcommunications, two-way radio communications, wireless local-areanetwork employing IEEE 802.11 standard for “Wi Fi”, wirelessmetropolitan-area network employing IEEE 802.16 standard for “WiMAX”,wireless area network employing IEEE 802 standard communications,wireless broadband network, and wireless network.
 4. A method as claimedin claim 1, wherein the message transmitted to the at least onerecipient is sent using at least one of paging communications, cellularcommunications, two-way radio communications, wireless local-areanetwork employing IEEE 802.11 standard for “Wi Fi”, wirelessmetropolitan-area network employing IEEE 802.16 standard for “WiMAX”,wireless area network employing IEEE 802 standard communications,wireless broadband network, and wireless network.
 5. A method as claimedin claim 1, wherein the message transmitted to the at least onerecipient is a personal message sent to a selected one or more of therecipients.
 6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the group messagehas a message identifier and the responses comprise the messageidentifier to facilitate associating responses to corresponding groupmessage.
 7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reply is one ofa response selected from among multiple choice options, and analphanumeric text reply entered by the recipient via the mobile device.8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indication of responsecomprises an indication of no response when the recipient has not yetresponded to the group message.
 9. A method as claimed in claim 1,wherein the transmitting of the group message is performed via adispatch center, and the monitoring is performed via a network device.10. A deterministic group messaging system providing acknowledged groupmessaging comprising: a memory device configured to store a recipientidentifier for each of a plurality of recipients, a group identifiercorresponding to each of respective groups of recipients, the groupseach comprising selected ones of the plurality of recipients, and groupmembership data comprising the recipient identifiers of the selectedrecipient corresponding to each of the group identifiers, wherein atleast one mobile device corresponding to each of the plurality ofrecipients is provided with at least a subset of the data stored in thememory device comprising its corresponding recipient identifier; and acontrol module comprising at least one processing device that isconfigured to access the memory device and is programmed to wirelesslytransmit a group message to the mobile device corresponding to eachrecipient in a selected group of recipients, each of the mobile devicesbeing configured to receive the group message and send a response whenthe group message is determined to be for a group to which thatrecipient belongs as a group member, monitor for responses to the groupmessage from the selected group of recipients, and store acknowledgementdata in the memory device for the recipients, the acknowledgement datacomprising an indication of response for each of recipients thatindicates that the group message was received by that recipient, thatthe group message was read by that recipient, and a reply was sent bythat recipient.
 11. A system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the groupmessage is sent using at least one of paging communications, cellularcommunications, two-way radio communications, wireless local-areanetwork employing IEEE 802.11 standard for “Wi Fi”, wirelessmetropolitan-area network employing IEEE 802.16 standard for “WiMAX”,wireless area network employing IEEE 802 standard communications,wireless broadband network, and a wireless network.
 12. A system asclaimed in claim 10, wherein the responses are sent using at least oneof paging communications, cellular communications, two-way radiocommunications, wireless local-area network employing IEEE 802.11standard for “Wi Fi”, wireless metropolitan-area network employing IEEE802.16 standard for “WiMAX”, wireless area network employing IEEE 802standard communications, wireless broadband network, and wirelessnetwork.
 13. A system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the messagetransmitted to the at least one recipient is sent using at least one ofpaging communications, cellular communications, two-way radiocommunications, wireless local-area network employing IEEE 802.11standard for “Wi Fi”, wireless metropolitan-area network employing IEEE802.16 standard for “WiMAX”, wireless area network employing IEEE 802standard communications, wireless broadband network, and wirelessnetwork.
 14. A system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the messagetransmitted to the at least one recipient is a personal message sent toa selected one or more of the recipients.
 15. A system as claimed inclaim 10, wherein the group message has a message identifier and theresponses comprise the message identifier to facilitate associatingresponses to corresponding group message.
 16. A system as claimed inclaim 10, wherein the reply is one of a response selected from amongmultiple choice options, and an alphanumeric text reply entered by therecipient via the mobile device.
 17. A system as claimed in claim 10,wherein the indication of response comprises an indication of noresponse when the recipient has not yet responded to the group message.18. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the at least one processingdevice comprises a processing device at a dispatch center to transmitthe group message, and a processing device at a network device tomonitor the responses.